Following its 70-6 Homecoming win against Weber State, Utah State's football team now ranks tied for eighth in the nation, and first in the Mountain West, averaging 49.3 points per game.

Sept. 15, 2013

LOGAN, Utah -
Following its 70-6 Homecoming win against Weber State, Utah State's football team now ranks tied for eighth in the nation, and first in the Mountain West, averaging 49.3 points per game.

Utah State also ranks first in the Mountain West (MW) and ninth in the nation in passing efficiency (193.0), first in the MW and 12th in the nation in total offense (550.3 ypg), second in the MW and 15th in the nation in passing offense (331.3 ypg), third in the MW and 37th in the nation in rushing offense (219.0 ypg), and tied for fourth in the MW and tied for 18th in the nation in sacks allowed (1.0 pg).

Utah State's offense also ranks fourth nationally in third down efficiency as it has converted 65.2 percent of its third downs (30-46), fourth nationally with an average of 29.0 first downs per game, and 23rd in the nation scoring on 16-of-17 (.941) red zone opportunities.

Defensively, Utah State ranks first in the Mountain West and 13th in nation in both passing defense (148.0 ypg) and total defense (286.0 ypg). USU also ranks second in the MW and tied for 49th in the nation in rushing defense (138.0), third in the MW and tied for 36th in the nation in scoring defense (18.7 ppg), third in the MW and 52nd in the nation in passing efficiency defense (119.1), and tied for fifth in the MW in sacks (1.0 pg).

Utah State's defense also ranks seventh in the nation as it is limiting its opponents to just 25.9 percent on third-down conversions (12-47).

On special teams, Utah State currently ranks second in the Mountain West and 15th in the nation averaging 27.8 yards per kick return. USU also ranks fourth in the MW in punt returns (8.8 ypr), seventh in the MW in turnover margin (0.00), and eighth in the MW in net punting (38.9 ypk).

USU also ranks among the top 10 teams in the nation in both kickoff return and punt return defense as it is allowing just 15.3 yards per kickoff return to rank fifth nationally and 0.0 yards per punt return to rank sixth in the nation.

Individually, junior quarterback Chuckie Keeton ranks first in the Mountain West and seventh in the nation in total offense with 370.0 yards per game. Keeton also ranks second in the MW and tied for eighth in the nation in completions (27.3), first in the MW and ninth in the nation in passing efficiency (187.7), third in the MW and 16th in the nation in passing (307.7 ypg), and ninth in the MW in rushing (62.3 ypg).

Other Aggies who rank among the statistical leaders in the Mountain West and in the nation include senior linebacker Jake Doughty who ranks second in the MW and tied for 26th in the nation in tackles (10.0 pg); senior safety Maurice Alexander who ranks fourth in the MW in tackles for loss (1.17 pg), tied for eighth in the MW sacks (0.5 pg), and tied for 39th in the MW in tackles (5.7 pg); junior linebacker Zach Vigil who ranks first in the MW and tied for sixth in the nation in fumbles forced (0.7 pg), 10th in the MW in tackles for loss (0.8 pg), and tied for 13th in the MW in tackles (7.7); sophomore wide receiver Bruce Natson who ranks second in the MW and 25th in the nation in punt returns (11.2 ypr) and eighth in the MW and tied for 36th in the nation in receptions (6.3 pg); senior running back Joey DeMartino who ranks tied for eighth in the MW in scoring (8.0 pg); senior wide receiver Travis Van Leeuwen who ranks ninth in the MW in receiving (75.3 ypg); junior safety Brian Suite who ranks tied for 39th in the MW in tackles (5.7 pg); and junior placekicker Nick Diaz who ranks tied for sixth in the MW in field goals (1.0 pg), and seventh in the MW in scoring (8.7 ppg).

Utah State (2-1, 1-0 MW) heads to Los Angeles, Calif., to take on Southern California (2-1, 0-1 PAC-12) on Saturday, Sept. 21 in a nationally televised game kicking off at 1:30 p.m. (MT). The game will be televised on ABC and ESPN2, depending on location.

The Aggies resume Mountain West action by playing an old Western Athletic Conference foe in San Jose State on Friday, Sept. 27 in another nationally televised game on ESPN. USU returns home to host in-state foe BYU on Friday, Oct. 4 at 6 p.m.

For Aggie football ticket information, fans can contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office over the phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305 during regular hours of operation. Fans can also buy their tickets in person at the USU Ticket Office inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or online by clicking on the "Buy Tickets" tab at www.UtahStateAggies.com.

Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on facebook at Utah State Football, as well as on instagram at instagram.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on facebook at Utah State University Athletics.